Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) Raised to "Sector Outperform" at CIBC

Key Points

• Williams Companies has been upgraded by CIBC from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating, with a price target of $64.00 which indicates a potential upside of 11.54% from its current price.
• The company has a market cap of $69.96 billion and reported a Q2 EPS of $0.46, missing analysts' expectations of $0.49.
• Institutional investors hold 86.44% of Williams Companies' stock, with notable increases in shares owned by firms such as Chapin Davis Inc. and Wallace Advisory Group LLC.

CIBC upgraded shares of Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a sector outperform rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $64.00 price target on the pipeline company's stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WMB. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Williams Companies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Williams Companies from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays upped their target price on Williams Companies from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.86.

Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of WMB stock traded down $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $56.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,812,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,021,415. Williams Companies has a fifty-two week low of $43.96 and a fifty-two week high of $63.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $58.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $68.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.66.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). Williams Companies had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 21.63%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Williams Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Williams Companies will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams Companies

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of Williams Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $119,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 313,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,718,333.60. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Larry C. Larsen sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $263,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,537,973.64. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $507,875. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Williams Companies

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 104.8% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 469 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises natural gas pipelines; Transco, Northwest pipeline, MountainWest, and related natural gas storage facilities; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.